Various machines are known for applying pieces of foil or labels to objects such as bottles. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,631,748; 3,379,601; 3,555,764; 3,567,559; and 3,707,423 as well as French Pat. Nos. 1,125,650 and 2,205,040 and German Pat. No. 617,177. These machines all have the main goal of applying as many blanks--foil pieces or labels--to bottles as possible in a given time. Production speed must be as high as possible, while nonetheless maintaining good placement accuracy of the labels or foils on the bottles. Most of these machines are, however, extremely complex. They necessitate elaborate holding and conveying means for transferring and eventually positioning the blanks on the bottles prior to affixing of these blanks to the bottles or other objects. As the blanks themselves are normally provided with adhesive, conveying them from one location to another prior to applying them to the bottles is an extremely tricky operation.
It is also normally necessary to apply foil or labels to the bottles as they move along a conveyor path. Since it is, however, necessary for the labels to be applied to the bottles while they are standing still, it is necessary that the labels be formed discontinuously. In the case of a foil machine this problem is particularly difficult as the foil is normally delivered on a roll that, in effect, constitutes a solid block of metal. Various devices are known for pulling material continuously off a roll in an upstream location while being able to arrest it fully at a downstream location. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,557,416; 2,650,823; 3,006,296; and 3,608,804. Such arrangements have normally not been successfully integrated in blank-forming and blank-applying machines.